secret society

secret society, organization of initiated persons whose members, purposes, and rituals are kept secret. Human groups throughout history have maintained secret societies. The ceremonies of initiation into such a society typically begin with an oath pledging secrecy as to all proceedings of the society, ascribing special obligations to its members, and assenting to penalties for violation of the oath. This is followed by tests of the candidate's worthiness, including physical courage and even painful mutilations. A dominant theme in the initiation trials of most of these societies is the symbolism of death and rebirth. After the candidate has passed the prescribed tests, the secret knowledge is transmitted to him. Secret societies have served as schools in which the elders instruct the young men in the ways of their society. These initiations are reminiscent of coming-of-age ceremonies. Women have comparable societies, but theirs have never matched those of men in number. (A notable exception was the Hung Society of China, a secret society of women that lasted over 1,500 years.) The mysteries, or secret rites and doctrines, of the Egyptians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, and other ancient peoples were transmitted solely through secret societies. In modern civilizations secret societies such as Freemasonry are numerous. They usually offer various types of mutual aid for their members; there are, for example, special obligations to members who are ill and to the families of deceased members. Some historic secret societies, such as the Bavarian Illuminati, have been the object of massive paranoid speculation, accused of conspiring for world political domination; but the model of the secret society, with its emphasis on absolute commitment and secret truths that set the initiate apart, has been used to explain various political groups from terrorists to Cold Warriors. Some secret societies, e.g., the Mafia and the Ku Klux Klan, under the guise of fraternal benevolence, have defended the interests of their members by violence. See also fraternal orders, fraternity.

Secret society is a term used to describe a variety of organizations. Although the exact meaning of the term is disputed, several of the definitions advanced indicate a degree of secrecy and secret knowledge, which might include denying membership or knowledge of the group, negative consequences for acknowledging one's membership, strong ties between members of the organization, and rites or rituals which outsiders are not permitted to observe.

Definition

Several definitions for the term have been put forward. The term "secret society" is used to describe fraternal organizations that may have secret ceremonies, ranging from the common and innocuous (collegiate fraternities) to mythical organizations described in conspiracy theories as immensely powerful, with self-serving financial or political agendas, global reach, and often luciferian beliefs.

Application of the term is often hotly disputed, as it can be seen as pejorative.

Therefore, the criteria that can be adopted as a definition for the term are important for which organizations any one definition would include or exclude.

Alan Axelrod, author of the International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders, defines a secret society where:

• The organization is exclusive
• It claims to own special secrets
• It shows a strong inclination to favor its own

David V. Barrett, author of Secret Societies: From the Ancient and Arcane to the Modern and Clandestine, uses slightly different terms to define what does and does not qualify as a secret society. He defines it as any group that possesses the following characteristics:

• It has "carefully graded and progressed teachings"
• Teaching are "available only to selected individuals"
• Teachings lead to "hidden (and 'unique') truths"
• Truths bring "personal benefits beyond the reach and even the understanding of the uninitiated."

Barrett goes on to say that "a further characteristic common to most of them is the practice of rituals which non-members are not permitted to observe, or even to know the existence of." Unfortunately, Barrett's definition would rule out many organizations called secret societies; (American college fraternities do not have graded teachings, nor did groups like the Carbonari, the Know Nothing Whigs or any of the political secret societies). Indeed any author can construct a definition so that it includes or excludes a specific group.

Oath taking

Many societies require members to take an oath at membership. Parts of an oath can include a promise to support the organization, to keep its secrets, that the new member will conceal or deny their membership in the organization. Sometimes such oaths can include penalties (ranging from the purely symbolic to the very real) for not living up to the oath.

Politics

Since some secret societies have political aims, they are illegal in several countries. Poland has made a ban of secret political parties and political organizations a part of its constitution. Not all secret societies are perceived as a threat by the existing political establishment.

Colleges and universities

Many student societies established on university campuses in the United States have been considered secret societies. These such collegiate secret societies are like the F.H.C. Club, (1750), and Phi Beta Kappa, (1776), both founded at William & Mary. The most famous member of the F.H.C. Club was Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States. In correspondence, Jefferson noted that the F.H.C. Club served "no useful object." Perhaps one of the most famous secret college societies is the Skull and Bones at Yale, of which both presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry are members from their college years.

Groups disputed as "secret societies"

The term "secret societies" could include criminal organizations, such as the Triad, Yakuza or the Cosa Nostra organizations.

The United States National Security Agency has been described as a secret society, since for many years, its very existence was a secret, as was its budget. People (such as James Bamford, in The Puzzle Palace, 1982) used to say that the letters NSA stood for "No Such Agency" or "Never Say Anything"; and, in the early 1990s, the CIA had a website but the NSA did not. This has changed: The NSA has had a website for several years, and its activities are debated in Congress and the press. Its budget is still classified, but it officially exists. Its activities are authorized and are paid for, although the details of those activities are closely-held secrets.

See also

• Secret societies in popular culture
• Collegiate secret societies in North America
• Secret combination (Latter Day Saints)

References

• Heckethorn, Charles William (1997). The secret societies of all ages and countries, embracing the mysteries of ancient India, China, Japan, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Greece, and Scandinavia, the Cabbalists, early Christians, heretics, Assassins, Thugs, Templars, the Vehm and Inquisition, mystics, Rosicrucians, Illuminati, Freemasons, Skopzi, Camorristi, Carbonari, nihilists, and other sects. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1-56459-296-0.
• Whalen, William Joseph (1966). Handbook of secret organizations. Milwaukee: Bruce Pub. Co..
  • Axelrod, Alan (1997). The international encyclopedia of secret societies and fraternal orders. New York: Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-2307-7.
  • Roberts, J. M. (John Morris) (1972). The mythology of the secret societies. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0-684-12904-3.
  • Robbins, Alexandra (2004). Pledged: the secret life of sororities. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 0-7868-8859-8.

  Notes

  External links

  • Major media articles on secret societies — Collection of one-paragraph excerpts with links to original articles
  • Secret Societies: a very short history — Documents and illustrations of Freemasons, Jesuits, Illuminati, Carbonari, Burschenschaften and other putative secret societies and clandestine organizations